Sometimes, I’m just not sure what’s going on with the beginning of “On the Media”. This week, Brooke and Bob do the usual teasers, and then randomly break into song. I’m pretty sure it’s them singing, and if so, Brooke has a lovely voice. (I’m fairly certain that it’s related to a later segment, but there’s only one way to find out. Onward!)
This week opens with a question that seems to get asked every time there’s a conflict: how do news organizations balance a need to keep people informed without informing enemies of strategy. The latest example comes from Mumbai, where many citizens were upset that news coverage may have helped the terrorists. It’s one of those tough questions that will probably never get answered.
During the Mumbai attacks, Twitter played a major role in helping people all over the world get news as it happened. This kind of thing always makes me happy. I love it when Twitter gets used like this because it means that people are taking it seriously. The good news – at least in Mumbai, the citizen journalists practiced restraint and held off on posting photos until a few hours later as not to release sensitive information.
I feel like I need to say something, just in case this recap seems a little disjointed. We adopted a puppy today, and we’re trying to crate train him. Right now, he’s wandring around the bedroom, going in and out of his crate and being generally completely freaked out, especially since we have hardwood floors and he’s sliding around.
Next up – do you read those “terms of use” things that you have to agree to before using a site? ‘Cause I don’t. Sometimes, if I’m feeling responsible, I’ll skim the first few paragraphs. But according to this interview with law school professor James Grimmelmann, maybe I should. Apparently, you can’t use Google if you’re under 18. Oops.
Well, if they expect people to read those, maybe they should make the text a bit more reader friendly. I know that they have to be written in legalese, but even lawyers need to learn that when writing for the internet, short paragraphs and bullet points are helpful.
So, the whole time I’ve been working on the recap, I’ve been both dreading and completely excited about the last segment, the one where they burst into song. Will this be like the time they did a “Project Runway” spoof? Should I feel bad for hoping it’s kind of a train wreck, because that’s so much more entertaining?
The segment begins with Brooke taking about the link between media exposure and a link between childhood obesity. Bob continues, saying that the findings called for a “bold new agenda”. But here comes the most unbelievable part. So spake Bob: “And here to help contextualize the report is…*long pause*…Hey, you know what, Brooke? Why don’t we just sing.” Brooke lets out an unconvincing “uh oh” that sounds like she’s throwing her hands up and saying “You know, Bob’s going to do whatever he wants to do. He’s wearing the sweater with the candy canes on it again. I can’t stop him.”
And the singing starts. Oh my god. Bob. Broadway called. They want their showtunes back. And um, Though, I was right, Brooke does have a lovely voice, kind of Nina Simone-like.
Just as soon as it starts, it’s over, which is probably for the best. The show, as always was edited by Brooke. The song, however, was most likely written by Bob.
This recap was written by Kerry, and completely ignored by Matthew, as Matthew is busy trying to get Henry, our brand new puppy, to behave himself.
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